Remember that scene from the office…
… where Jim rides his bike to work and shows up all sweaty? That was me this morning.
The van's in the shop getting new brakes, and Amanda had a doctor's appointment this morning. I've been meaning to start biking it anyway ever since Jared fixed up the bike I've had since high school, so this was the excuse I needed to finally do it. I'm hoping to make the trip 2 or 3 times a week, but we'll see. Judging from the other folks I saw along the path today, the way to go is to get one of those rack/saddle bags combinations so I can pack my clothes in one side, my lunch in the other, with my shoes on top. Sure, that setup doesn't look very cool, but I think I'm past that. I mean, I even wore a helmet today. It's a sure sign of that I'm getting old when safety (and responsibility) becomes a higher priority than going fast or looking cool.
I also found a great site this morning that let me map my ride to get the distance from home to work. Oddly enough, the site is mapmyride.com. The total distance was 5.58 miles, and you can see the route I took here.
Any other bicycle commuters among us? I'd be curious to know who else does this sort of thing, and any tips you might have for me.
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I sense another gift giving category developing. I was wondering when the genes you inherited from your father were going to kick in. You are correct that if you are going to do this on a regular basis (which you should) it will take an investment, but unlike some other toys a man can purchase as he matures, these are truly an investment if used and will pay you back in more ways than $. A rack and some sort of pannier system will be needed. There are a number of different combinations depending on what you will need to carry. Since I have to wear a shirt and tie I have a garment bag set up that will allow me to carry my clothes in a way they don't get wrinkled. http://www.performance.com is an excellent bike shop on line to order stuff and to see what is out there. Any ride more than 10 mins (especially in NE humidity) I wouldn't recommend doing in the clothes you are going to work in. Make sure you have an extra bottle of cologne at your desk and a coworker who isn't afraid to speak up and tell you to use it when needed. Another option if you want to see if you are going to do this long term would be to see if there is a closet at work somewhere that you could hang a days worth of clothes or two in, then all you need is a back pack to carry your shoes and a few misc. things in. In the old days, when I worked in a business casual environment I even got a way at first with packing clothes in a back pack As with any other male hobby, you will find many things to spend your money on for things you just have to have, so don't think that you are going to get rich off of all that money you are going to "save", at least not at first, but as the MasterCard saying goes, "being able to tell the Arabs to keep their stinking oil" priceless.
hows it running mike?! here is the 'mapping' site i use…its real slick: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
Jared, it's running really well. I've been out on it more than a dozen times since you got it all fixed up. Thanks again for your work on my bike. It has been nice to be able to just jump on it and go to the grocery store or for a family ride. I had forgotten how fun it is to have a bike.